Timeline of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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This is an incomplete timeline of notable events in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

1 Start of Jewish migration
2 British control
3 UN Resolution
4 Creation of Israel
- 4.1 May 14, 1948
5 After Establishment
6 Suez Crisis
- 6.1 October 29, 1956
- 6.2 March 1957
7 Creation of the PLO
- 7.1 February 3, 1964
8 Six-Day War
- 8.1 June 1967
- 8.2 September 1, 1967
9 Post Six-Day War
10 Yom Kippur War
- 10.1 October 1973
11 Post Yom Kippur War
12 1982 Lebanon War
13 First Intifada
14 Peace Process
15 Second Intifada begins
16 See also
17 Notes
18 External Reference:
19 Notes

[edit] Start of Jewish migration

There had been a continuous Jewish presence in the Holy Land since Biblical times, as well as smaller waves of immigration throughout history (such as refugees from the Spanish Inquisition). In the mid nineteenth century Jewish communities and families, mostly from Eastern Europe, fleeing increasing antisemitism and pogroms in Europe, begin to immigrate in increasing numbers to Palestine, then a province of the Ottoman Empire, the historic Land of Israel. (See Hovevei Zion, Bilu.) At that time, the Jewish presence in Palestine was roughly 6% of the total population, the rest consisting of Arabs (90% of whom were Muslim, 10% Christian). Judaism had been the predominant religion in Jerusalem, and from the 1870s on, the city again maintains a Jewish majority.

[edit] First Aliyah, 1882-1903

The first mass "wave" (Aliyah) of Jewish immigrants to Palestine arrives, mostly from Eastern Europe, as well as some from Yemen, numbering about 35,000.

[edit] September 3, 1897

The World Zionist Organization founded at the First Zionist Congress. From 1897 to 1946, a Zionist Congress was held every two years in various European cities, save for interruptions during the two World Wars. Their goal was to build an infrastructure to further the cause of Jewish settlement in Palestine.

[edit] Second Aliyah, 1904-1914

The second "wave" of Jewish immigrants, numbering approximately 40,000 arrive.

[edit] 1915

Hussein-McMahon Correspondence promises Arab state in return for revolt against the Turks. The region of Palestine was not explicitly mentioned. Disputes between Arabs and the British over whether Palestine was meant to be included in these documents would fuel the conflict over nationalism.

[edit] 1916-1918

Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

[edit] May 1916

Sykes-Picot Agreement between Britain and France partitions the territory of the Ottoman Empire.

[edit] British control

[edit] November 2, 1917

Balfour Declaration 1917: British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour sends a letter to Lord Rothschild, President of the Zionist Federation, declaring his government would "view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people".

[edit] 1919-1923

Third Aliyah, roughly 40,000 more Jews arrive in Palestine, mostly from Eastern Europe.

[edit] January 18 1919

Faisal-Weizmann Agreement between Emir Faisal (son of the King of Hejaz) and Chaim Weizmann (later President of the World Zionist Organization). "We Arabs," said Faisal, "especially the educated among us, look with the deepest sympathy on the Zionist movement... We will wish the Jews a most hearty welcome home."

[edit] March 1, 1920

Jewish settlements in the Upper Galilee were attacked by Arab forces. Joseph Trumpeldor was among 8 who died defending Tel Hai.

[edit] April-June, 1920

Jerusalem pogrom of 1920 April 4-7. The violent 3-day riot against the Jews in Jerusalem's Old City prompts the establishment of Haganah on June 15, 1920.

[edit] May 1-7, 1921

Jaffa riots.

[edit] May 8, 1921

Herbert Samuel pardons Palestinian Jews and Arabs involved in the 1920 disturbances, including Mohammad Amin al-Husayni.

[edit] March 1922

Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill splits Palestine and forms Transjordan, giving the Hashemites 77% of Mandatory Palestine to form an Arab state called Transjordan in return for leading the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans.^[1]. Jews are permitted only on the remaining west side of the Jordan River, where the mandate would continue.

[edit] June 3, 1922

The Churchill White Paper, 1922 clarifies the British position regarding Palestine.

[edit] July 24, 1922

The League of Nations grants Britain a mandate to administer Palestine. British express interest in Zionism, and describe their main intent of developing a Jewish national home.

[edit] 1924-1929

Fourth Aliyah, roughly 82,000 Jews fleeing extreme anti-Semitism arrive in Palestine.

[edit] 1929-1939

Fifth Aliyah, due in part to the rise of fascism in Europe, approximately 250,000 Jews arrived in Palestine during this period. However, restrictions imposed on Jewish immigration by the British authorities in response to events such as the Great Uprising curbed Jewish immigration in the later 1930's.

[edit] Summer 1929

1929 Palestine riots. Dispute between Muslims and Jews over access to the Western Wall. 133 Jews killed and 339 wounded (mostly by Arabs); 116 Arabs killed and 232 wounded (mostly by British-commanded police and soldiers).

[edit] August 23, 1929

1929 Hebron massacre. Arab rioters rape women and kill 67 Hebron Jews. Arabs occupy their property and force remaining Jews out. The British move out the Jewish communities in the Arab enclaves of Hebron and Gaza "to prevent another massacre", ending the ancient Jewish presence in the cities. Both communities would resume after the 1967 War.

[edit] 1930-1935

The violent activities of Black Hand Islamist group led by Shaykh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam against Jewish civilians and the British.

[edit] October 20, 1930

Hope Simpson Royal Commission and Passfield White Paper were published, recommending to limit Jewish immigration.

[edit] May 7, 1936 — March 1939

The 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine: the Arab leadership, led by Haj Amin al-Husayni, declares a general strike which rapidly deteriorates into a violent rebellion that lasts for three years. The mainstream Jewish defense organization, the Haganah, maintains a policy of restraint, but the smaller Irgun (also called Etzel) group adopts a policy of retaliation and revenge. Roughly 5000 Arabs and 400 Jews are killed.

[edit] July 1937

The Peel Commission proposes a partition plan (map), rejected by the Arab leadership as it included a Jewish state. The Jewish opinion was divided as Jewish immigration was limited to only 12,000, and the Twentieth Zionist Congress ultimately rejected the proposal as well.

[edit] 1938-1949

Lehi (group) (also known as the Stern Gang), as well as other militant Zionist groups, attack British and Arab targets and civilians in Palestine. 1944-1948 the Irgun and then Haganah join in on anti-British attacks.

[edit] July 1938

At 7:00am on July 26, revisionist Zionists detonate a bomb in an Arab Melon market in Haifa, killing 53 Arabs, one Jew and wounding at least 46 more Arabs.^[2]

[edit] April — August 1938

The Woodhead Commission reverses the Peel Commission's findings, considers two alternative partition plans, known as Plan B (map) and Plan C (map), and reports in November that partition was impracticable. ([39])

[edit] October 2, 1938

1938 Tiberias massacre: Arabs murder 20 Jews in the city of Tiberias.

[edit] February — March 17, 1939

St. James Conference ends without making any progress as the Arab delegation refuses to recognize or meet with its Jewish counterpart.

[edit] May 17, 1939

The White Paper of 1939 calls for the creation of a unified Palestinian state. Even though the White Paper states its commitment to the Balfour Declaration, it imposed very substantial limits to both Jewish immigration (restricting it to only 75,000 over the next 5 years), and their ability to purchase land.

In the midst of the Holocaust, the Haganah smuggles over 100,000 Jews from Europe between 1939-1948 to provide refuge from Nazi extermination.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] June 1940

June 19, 20 Arabs were killed by explosives mounted on a donkey at a marketplace in Haifa. June 29, 13 Arabs were killed in multiple shootings during one-hour period.

[edit] May 1, 1946

Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry proposes admission of 100,000 Jewish refugees into the Mandate.

[edit] July 22, 1946

King David Hotel Bombing. Irgun members detonate bombs in the basement of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, where the British had brought a large amount of documents confiscated from the Jewish Agency. The attack kills 91 people and injures 45 more, mostly civilians. The hotel was a center of British administration at the time, although Arabs and Jews were also victims. The Jewish National Council condemns the attack.

[edit] February 18, 1947

Great Britain announces intention to hand the Mandate to the United Nations.

[edit] UN Resolution

[edit] November 29, 1947

With a two-thirds majority international vote, the UN General Assembly passes a Partition Plan dividing the British Mandate of Palestine into two states. The Jewish leadership accepts the plan, but the Arab leadership rejects it.

[edit] December 30, 1947

Haifa Oil Refinery massacre. Irgun militants hurl two bombs into a crowd of Arab workers from a passing vehicle, killing 6 workers and wounding 42, damaging the relative peace between the two groups in Haifa. Skirmishes continue in Haifa and around the region.

[edit] November 30, 1947

Following the announcement of the Partition Plan, Palestinian Arabs react violently and fighting broke out leading to the "first phase" of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, also known as the "civil war".

[edit] December 2-5, 1947

1947 Jerusalem riots. The Arab Higher Committee declared a strike and public protest of the vote. Arabs marching to Zion Square on December 2 were stopped by the British, and the Arabs instead turned towards the commercial center of the City, burning many buildings and shops. Violence continued for two more days, with Arab mobs attacking a number of Jewish neighborhoods. 70 Jews and 50 Arabs are killed.

[edit] Creation of Israel

[edit] May 14, 1948

Israel declares Independence from British rule, before the expiration of the British Mandate of Palestine at midnight.

[edit] After Establishment

[edit] Winter and Spring, 1948

"Battle of the Roads". The Arab League sponsored Arab Liberation Army, composed of Palestinian Arabs and Arabs from other Middle Eastern countries, attacked Jewish communities in Palestine, and Jewish traffic on major roads. The Arab forces mainly concentrated on major roadways in an attempt to cut off Jewish communities from each other. Arab forces at that time had engaged in sporadic and unorganized ambushes since the riots of December 1947, and began to make organized attempts to cut off the highway linking Tel Aviv with Jerusalem, the city's only supply route. The Arab Army controlled several strategic vantage points overlooking the sole highway linking Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, enabling them to fire at convoys going to the city, and cutting off supply lines between the two cities. By late March 1948, the vital road that connected Tel Aviv to western Jerusalem, where about 16% of all Jews in the Palestinian region lived, was cut off and under siege.

[edit] February 2, 1948

1948 Ben Yehuda Street Bombing. Arabs arrange three car bombs killing 52 Jews, injuring 123, all civilians.

[edit] April 6-12, 1948

Operation Nachshon. The Haganah decided to launch a major military counteroffensive to break the siege of Jerusalem. On 6 April the Haganah and its strike force, the Palmach, in an offensive to secure strategic points, took al-Qastal, an important roadside town 2 kilometers west of Deir Yassin. But intense fighting lasted for days more as control of that key village remained contested.

[edit] April 9, 1948

Deir Yassin massacre. IZL-Lehi forces attack Deir Yassin, as part of Operation Nachshon, killing between 100 and 120 Arabs, mostly civilians.

[edit] April 13, 1948

Hadassah medical convoy massacre. Claimed as retribution for the Deir Yassin massacre, Arab mobs attack a large convoy, mostly of unarmed Jewish doctors set off carrying patients, equipment, and supplies, travel from Jerusalem to the besieged hospital which treated the majority of Jewish residents in Jerusalem. 77 Jews are killed. Road attacks continue and convoys were unable to reach the hospital for a week.

[edit] May 15, 1948

Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Transjordan, Holy War Army, Arab Liberation Army, and local Arabs attack the new Jewish state with the intent of destroying it. The resulting 1948 Arab-Israeli War lasts for 13 months. By the end of the war, about 700,000 Palestinian Arabs become refugees.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] A very comparable number of Jewish refugees from Arab lands flee to Israel.^[7]

[edit] June 1948

Violent confrontation between the Israel Defense Forces under the command of David Ben-Gurion, and the paramilitary Jewish group Irgun known as The Altalena Affair results in the dismantlement of the Irgun, Lehi, and all Israeli paramilitary organizations operating outside the IDF.

[edit] February-July 1949

Israel concludes Armistice Agreements with neighbouring countries. The territory of the British Mandate of Palestine is divided between the State of Israel, the Kingdom of the Jordan (changed from Transjordan) and Egypt. Israel continues to provide for Jewish refugees from different countries. Arab refugees in neighboring states are left unrelieved.

[edit] 1948-1956

Infiltration by fedayeen from Egypt across Israeli border resulting in many minor skirmishes, raids and counter-raids, resulting in hundreds of casualties on both sides, including many civilians.

[edit] 1951

The State of Israel is confronted by a wave of Palestinian infiltrations. In 1951, 137 Israelis, mostly civilians, are killed by such infiltrators.

[edit] 1952

162 Israelis, mostly civilians, are killed by Palestinian infiltrators.

[edit] 1953

160 Israelis, mostly civilians, are killed by Palestinian infiltrators.

[edit] 1953

Qibya massacre. Claiming to respond to earlier Palestinian infiltrations, Ariel Sharon in command of Unit 101 carries out a raid in the village of Qibya. Over 60 Arabs are killed, two thirds of which were women and children.

[edit] Suez Crisis

[edit] October 29, 1956

Israel invades Egypt's Sinai Peninsula in secret alliance with France and Britain. The European nations had economic and trading interests in the Suez Canal, while Israel wanted to reopen the canal for Israeli shipping and end Egyptian-supported guerrilla incursions and attacks.

Kafr Qasim massacre. 48-49 Arab civilians are killed by Israel Border Police as they return to their village from work.

Egypt expels its Jewish population and confiscates their property.

[edit] March 1957

Israel withdraws its forces from the Sinai Peninsula, ending the Suez Crisis.

[edit] Creation of the PLO

[edit] February 3, 1964

The Palestine Liberation Organization is founded in Cairo by the Arab League with Ahmad Shuqeiri as its leader. Even though Ahmad Shuqeiri is the official leader, the organization is more or less controlled by the Egyptian government. The PLO states their goal as the destruction of the State of Israel through armed struggle, and replacing it with an "independent Palestinian state" between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

[edit] Six-Day War

[edit] June 1967

The Six-Day War. Israel launches a pre-emptive strike against the Egyptian Air Force on suspicion that Egypt and Syria are planning to invade. There had been an Egyptian naval blockade and military buildup in the Sinai Peninsula as well as Syrian support for Fedayeen incursions into Israel. Israel defeats the combined forces of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and their supporters and captures the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Jewish settlements form and re-form in the territories. After the annexation, Jews and Christians were permitted to enter the Old City and its holy sites, which they (except for some Christians under limited conditions) were forbidden from under Jordanian rule.

[edit] September 1, 1967

The Khartoum Resolution issued at the Arab Summit with eight Arab countries adopts the "three nos": 1. No peace with Israel, 2. No recognition of Israel, 3. No negotiations with Israel.

[edit] Post Six-Day War

[edit] 1968-1970

Egypt wages the War of Attrition against Israel.

[edit] February 2, 1969

Yasser Arafat, head of the Fatah party, is appointed chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, replacing Ahmad Shukeiri, after Fatah becomes the dominant force in the PLO.

[edit] May 8, 1970

Avivim school bus massacre. Palestinian militants originating in Lebanon, attack a school bus, killing 12 (mostly children) and wounding another 19.

[edit] September, 1970

After Black September in Jordan, the PLO was driven out to Lebanon.

[edit] May 8, 1972

Sabena airplane hijacked and liberated in Lod Airport 4 commercial jets were taken to Jordan and blown up.

[edit] May 30, 1972

Lod Airport Massacre. On behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Japanese Red Army members enter the waiting area of Lod Airport in Tel Aviv and fire indiscriminately at airport staff and visitors. 24 people killed, and 78 injured.

[edit] September 5, 1972

Munich Massacre of Israeli Olympic team by Palestinian militant group, Black September.

[edit] April 9, 1973

Israeli commando raid against PLO targets in Beirut, the Lebanon (Operation Spring of Youth)

[edit] Yom Kippur War

[edit] October 1973

The Yom Kippur War. Syria and Egypt surprise-attack Israeli forces in the Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Jordan, Iraq, and other Arab nations join in and/or support the Arab war effort.

[edit] Post Yom Kippur War

[edit] April 11, 1974

Kiryat Shmona massacre, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command cross the border into Israel from Lebanon. They enter an apartment building and kill all eighteen residents, half of which are children.

[edit] May 15, 1974

Ma'alot massacre. Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine attack a van killing two Israeli Arab women, enter an apartment and kill a family, take over a local school and hold at least 90 students and teachers hostage. 26 Israelis killed, 60 wounded.

[edit] October 26-29, 1974

The Arab League recognizes the PLO as sole representative of the Palestinians. On November 13, Yassir Arafat addresses the UN General Assembly.

[edit] March 4, 1975

Savoy Operation. Eight Palestinian terrorists in two teams landed by boat in Tel Aviv. Shooting and throwing grenades, they capture the Savoy Hotel and take the guests as hostages. Five hostages were freed and eight were killed. Three Israeli soldiers were also killed.

[edit] July 4, 1975

A "refrigerator bomb" in Jerusalem kills 15 Israelis and wounds 77.

[edit] July 4, 1976

Operation Entebbe. Air France Flight 139, originating in Tel Aviv, Israel took off from Athens, Greece, heading for Paris, France, is hijacked by four terrorists (two from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine \u2014 External Operations and two from the radical German militant group "Revolutionäre Zellen"). Israel performs a rescue mission to free the 248 passengers and 12 crew members held hostage at the Entebbe Airport in Uganda. The rescue is only partially successful, with one Israeli fatality.

[edit] May 1977

Menachem Begin of the Likud Party is elected Prime Minister, ending nearly 30 years of rule by the Labour Party.

[edit] March, 1978

Coastal Road Massacre. Fatah Palestinians kill an American photographer, hijack a loaded bus and kill 36 more Israelis and wound 76.

Operation Litani. Israel, in alliance with the mostly Christian South Lebanon Army, launches a limited-scope invasion of Lebanon and attempts to push Palestinian militant groups away from the Israel border. The 7-day offensive results in about 285,000 refugees created and between 300 and 1200 Lebanese and Palestinian militants and civilians killed.

[edit] September 17, 1978

Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat sign the Camp David Accord, with Israel agreeing to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula in exchange for peace and a framework for future negotiation over the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

[edit] March 26, 1979

Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Egypt becomes the first Arab country to officially recognize Israel.

[edit] April 22, 1979

Samir Kuntar from the Palestine Liberation Front kills 4 Israelis including a four year-old girl in the Israeli town of Nahariya.

[edit] July 17, 1981

Israel bombs PLO headquarters, which had been located in a civilian area of Beirut and caused more than 300 civilian deaths. This led the United States to broker a shaky cease-fire between Israel and the PLO.

[edit] 1982 Lebanon War

[edit] June 6, 1982

Israel launches Operation Peace for Galilee into southern Lebanon. Israel claims the invasion was in order to remove PLO forces after several violations of a cease-fire, most notably an assassination attempt against Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, by the Abu Nidal Organization. Israel is allied with the Lebanese Christian army against the PLO, Syria, and Muslim Lebanese. As a result of the war, the PLO leadership is driven from Lebanon and relocates to Tunis.

[edit] September 1982

Sabra and Shatila massacre. Lebanese Phalangists massacre between 700-3500 Palestinians in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila, almost all civilians. While no Israeli soldiers were present in the fighting, Israeli Defense Minister, Ariel Sharon, was found to be indirectly responsible by negligence for the massacre by the Kahan Commission, and was asked to resign his position. The commission's conclusions are controversial and remain a subject of debate.^[8]

[edit] August 1983

The Israeli Army withdraws from most of Lebanon, maintaining a self-proclaimed "Security Zone" in the south.

[edit] April 9, 1985

Sana'a Mouhadlyof the Syrian Social Nationalist Party detonates herself in an explosive-laden vehicle in Lebanon, killing two Israeli soldiers and injuring two more, becoming the first reported female suicide bomber.

[edit] October 1, 1985

After three Israeli civlians were killed on their yacht off the coast of Cyprus by Force 17 PLO, the Israeli Air Force carries out Operation Wooden Leg and strikes the PLO base in Tunis, killing 60 PLO members.

[edit] October 7, 1985

The Palestine Liberation Front hijacks the Achille Lauro, redirecting the cruise ship to Syria and holding its passengers and crew hostage, demanding the release of 50 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. One man was murdered; Leon Klinghoffer, a Jewish American, was celebrating his 36th wedding anniversary with his wife upon the Achille Lauro. At the age of 69 he was shot in the forehead and chest while sitting in his wheelchair.

[edit] December 27, 1985

Intending to hijack El Al jets and blow them up over Tel Aviv, Fatah - Revolutionary Council gunmen open fire with rifles and grenades at the international airports in Rome and Vienna, killing 18 civilians and wounding 138. 6 of the 7 terrorists were either killed or captured.

[edit] First Intifada

[edit] December 8, 1987

First Intifada begins. Violence, riots, general strikes, and civil disobedience campaigns by Palestinians spread across the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli forces respond with tear gas, plastic bullets, and live ammunition.

After the outbreak of the First Intifada, Shaikh Ahmed Yassin creates Hamas from the Gaza wing of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Until this point the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza had enjoyed the support of the Israeli authorities and had refrained from violent attacks, however, Hamas quickly began attacks on Israeli military targets, and subsequently, Israeli civilians.

[edit] November 15, 1988

An independent State of Palestine was proclaimed by the Palestinian National Council meeting in Algiers, by a vote of 253 to 46.

[edit] July 16, 1989

First Palestinian suicide attack inside Israel's borders: Tel Aviv Jerusalem bus 405 massacre.

[edit] October 30, 1991

Madrid Conference.

[edit] June 1992

Yitzhak Rabin of the Labour Party elected Prime Minister.

[edit] Peace Process

Israeli-Palestinian conflict [ v • d • e ] Part of the Arab-Israeli conflict

[edit] August 20, 1993

Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin sign the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government in Oslo. This event is also seen by many people as the definitive end to the First Intifada^[9] (although some argue it had effectively ended by 1991-1992). By 1993, the violence of the Intifada had claimed the lives of 1162 Palestinians and 160 Israelis. The IDF criticizes these numbers from not distinguishing combatants and non-combatants.

[edit] February 25, 1994

Cave of the Patriarchs massacre, Baruch Goldstein opens fire on a group of Palestinian Muslims worshipping at a Mosque, killing 29 and injuring 125. He is subsequently overpowered and beaten to death by survivors.

[edit] April 6, 1994

Hamas carries out their second suicide bombing, in Afula, Israel, killing 8 people. The first suicide bombing was on April 1, 1993 near Bet El killing 2 people.

[edit] May 18, 1994

Israeli forces withdraw from Jericho and Gaza City in compliance with the Oslo accords.

[edit] July, 1994

Arafat returns from exile to head Palestinian National Authority.

[edit] October 19, 1994

22 Israelis are killed after a suicide attack on a bus in Tel Aviv. This was the first major suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.

[edit] October 26, 1994

Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty

[edit] December 10, 1994

Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

[edit] January 22, 1995

A double suicide bombing by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaves 21 killed in one of the biggest attacks which further divides the Israeli public over the peace process.

[edit] September 28, 1995

Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, also known as Oslo II, signed in Washington, DC.

[edit] November 4, 1995

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated in Tel Aviv by Jewish extremist Yigal Amir. Shimon Peres assumes the position of acting Prime Minister.

[edit] February 25 - March 4, 1996

A series of suicide attacks in Jerusalem (Jerusalem bus 18 massacres and in the French Hill), Tel Aviv and Ashkelon leave more than 60 Israeli dead. These events are said to have had a major impact on the Israeli elections in May.

[edit] May 1996

Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud Party is elected Prime Minister.

[edit] January 15-17, 1997

Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron was signed.

[edit] July 30, 1997

16 Israelis are killed in a double suicide attack in the major market of Jerusalem. This was the worst killing during Netanyahu's time which is regarded as a relatively quiet period, attributed by Netanyahu to his tit-for-tat policy and his objection to the Palestinian revolving door policy. A nearby attack on September 4, 1997 killed four Israelis and led to Chicago's Persian heritage crisis.

[edit] October 23, 1998

Benjamin Netanyahu and Yasser Arafat sign the Wye River Memorandum at a summit in Maryland hosted by Bill Clinton.

[edit] May 17, 1999

Ehud Barak of the Labour Party is elected Prime Minister.

[edit] May 24, 2000

The Israeli Army withdraws from southern Lebanon, in compliance with U.N. Resolution 425. Syria and Lebanon insist that the withdrawal is incomplete, claiming the Shebaa Farms as Lebanese and still under occupation. The UN certifies full Israeli withdrawal.

[edit] July 2000

The Camp David Summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat aimed at reaching a "final status" agreement collapses after Yasser Arafat would not accept a proposal drafted by American and Israeli negotiators.

[edit] Second Intifada begins

[edit] September 28, 2000

Right wing Israeli Opposition Leader Ariel Sharon visits the Temple Mount which is administered by a Waqf (Under Israeli law, each religious group is granted administration of their holy sites). The day after the visit, violent confrontations erupt between Muslims and Israeli Police. Arafat names the second intifada the Al-Aqsa Intifada after Sharon's visit, for the Al-Aqsa Mosque contained within the Temple Mount (holy also to Jews and Christians). This event is considered by some to be one of the possible catalysts of the second intifada, however, it is commonly accepted in most circles that there had been numerous underlying causes.

[edit] September 29, 2000

Violent confrontations erupt between Muslims outside a mosque and Israeli Police.

[edit] November 22, 2000

Two Israeli women killed and 60 civilians were wounded in a car bomb attack in Hadera.

[edit] October 12, 2000

The lynching in Ramallah.

[edit] December 10, 2000

Prime Minister Ehud Barak resigns.

[edit] January 21-27, 2001

Taba Summit. Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority aimed to reach the "final status" of negotiations. Ehud Barak temporarily withdraws from negotiations during the Israeli elections, subsequently Ariel Sharon refused to continue negotiating in the face of the newly erupted violence.

[edit] February 6, 2001

Ariel Sharon of the Likud Party is elected Prime Minister and refuses to continue negotiations with Yasser Arafat at the Taba Summit.

[edit] June 1, 2001

Dolphinarium massacre. A Hamas suicide bomber exploded himself at the entrance of a club. 21 Israelis killed, over 100 injured, all youth.

Five months prior to the bombing, there was a failed terrorist attempt at the same spot.

[edit] August 9, 2001

Sbarro restaurant massacre. A suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt weighing 5 to 10 kilograms, containing explosives, nails, nuts and bolts, detonated his bomb. In the blast 15 people (including 7 children) were killed, and 130 wounded. Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad initially claimed responsibility.

[edit] August 27, 2001

Abu Ali Mustafa, the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, is assassinated by an Israeli missile shot by an Apache helicopter through his office window in Ramallah.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] October 17, 2001

Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi is assassinated in Jerusalem by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

[edit] March 13, 2002

The U.S. pushes through the passage of U.N. Resolution 1397 by the Security Council, demanding an "immediate cessation of all acts of violence" and "affirming a vision of a region where two states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within secure and recognized borders".

[edit] March 14, 2002

Israeli forces continue the raid on Ramallah and other West Bank towns. A helicopter attack near Tulkarm kills Mutasen Hammad and two bystanders. A bomb in Gaza City destroys an Israeli tank which was escorting settlers, killing 3 soldiers and wounding 2. A taxi in Tulkarm explodes, killing 4 Palestinians. Palestinians execute two accused collaborators in Bethlehem, planning to hang one of the corpses near the Church of the Nativity until Palestinian police stop them.

[edit] March 27, 2002

Passover massacre. The Park Hotel in Netanya held a big Passover dinner for its 250 guests. A Palestinian suicide bomber enters the hotel's dining room and detonates an explosive device. Thirty people are killed and about 140 injured, all civilians. Hamas claims responsibility.

[edit] March 28, 2002

The Beirut Summit approves the Saudi peace proposal.

[edit] March 29, 2002

Israeli forces begin Operation Defensive Shield, Israel's largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.

[edit] March 30, 2002

A suicide bomber explodes in a Tel Aviv café at around 9:30 PM local time, wounding 32 people. President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell (USA) call on Yasir Arafat to condemn the wave of suicide bombings in Arabic, to his own people. Israeli spokespeople make similar demands. Arafat goes on television and swears in Arabic that he will "die a martyr, a martyr, a martyr". Members of Arafat's personal Al-Aqsa brigade state that they will refuse any form of cease-fire, and that they will continue suicide bombings of civilians in Israel.

[edit] March 31, 2002

Matza restaurant massacre. A Palestinian Hamas bomber blows himself up in an Arab-owned restaurant in Haifa, killing 15 (including 2 whole families) and injuring over 40 people.

Israeli troops exchange gunfire with guards of Yasir Arafat in Ramallah. In the past 18 months, according to the Associated Press, 1262 people have been killed on the Palestinian side and on 401 on the Israeli side; in March, 259 Palestinians and 130 Israelis were killed. The stats do not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.

[edit] April 2, 2002

Israeli troops occupy Bethlehem. Dozens of armed Palestinian gunmen, many of whom Israel has identified as terrorists, occupy the Church of the Nativity and hold the church and its clergy.

[edit] April 12, 2002

The Battle of Jenin, as part of Operation Defensive Shield, Israeli forces enter a Palestinian refugee camp in Jenin where about a quarter of suicide bombings since 2000 had been launched from. The battle cost the lives of 23 Israeli soldiers and 52 Palestinians, of which 30 were militants and 22 were civilians. This particular event sparked a great deal of controversy.

[edit] May 9, 2002

Muhammad al-Madani, governor of Bethlehem, leaves the Church of the Nativity.

Israel calls up additional reserve forces and moves tanks into position for an expected incursion into the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the most recent suicide bombing.

[edit] May 18, 2002

Israeli Shin Bet officials announce they have arrested six Israelis for conspiring to bomb Palestinian schools in April, including Noam Federman, a leader of the Kach movement of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, and Menashe Levinger, son of Rabbi Moshe Levinger. Membership to the Kach group is illegal in Israel and punishable by law.

[edit] June 2002

Israel begins construction of the West Bank Fence. Palestinian terror attacks on Israelis subsequently drop by 90%.^[10]

[edit] June 18, 2002

Patt junction massacre. A Hamas Palestinian Islamic law student explodes himself with a belt filled with metal balls for shrapnel. 19 Israelis killed, and over 74 wounded.

[edit] June 24, 2002

US President George W. Bush proposes a Palestinian state under new leadership.

[edit] July 23, 2002

An Israeli warplane fires a missile at an apartment in Gaza City, killing the top of their most wanted list, Salah Shehadeh, top commander of Hamas' military wing, the Izzadine el-Qassam. The apartment building is flattened and 14 civilians are killed (nine children).[40]

[edit] July 31, 2002

A Hamas member leaves a bag containing a bomb in the cafeteria of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, killing 9 Jewish students (four Israeli, five foreign), and injuring 85 others (different nationalities, some Arab). Palestinians rally in Gaza waving Hamas flags to celebrate the attack. On August 17, Israeli Security Forces expose a terrorist cell of Hamas operatives in East Jerusalem that had been responsible for the attack. The members had been planning another attack until arrested by Israel.[41][42][43]

[edit] November 21, 2002

Jerusalem bus 20 massacre. Hamas Palestinian suicide bomber explodes himself on a crowded bus, killing 11 people, and wounding over 50.

[edit] April 30, 2003

The Quartet on the Middle East announces the Road map for peace.

[edit] August 19, 2003

Jerusalem bus 2 massacre. A Hamas Palestinian disguised as a Haredi Jew detonates himself with a bomb spiked with ball-bearings on a bus crowded with children. 23 Israelis killed, over 130 wounded, all civilians.

[edit] October 4, 2003

Maxim restaurant suicide bombing. A 28-year-old Palestinian female suicide bomber, Hanadi Jaradat, explodes herself inside the Maxim restaurant in Haifa. 21 Israelis, Jews and Arabs were killed, and 51 others were wounded. The restaurant is co-owned by Jewish and Christian Arab Israelis, and was a symbol of co-existence.

[edit] February 25, 2005

Young Israelis arrive for a surprise birthday party at the Stage Club in Tel Aviv. A teenage suicide bomber detonates himself at the entrance to the club. 5 Israelis killed, and about 50 wounded. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility.^[11]

[edit] July 9, 2004

The International Court of Justice rules in a non-binding advisory opinion that the West Bank wall is illegal under international law,^[12] the United Nations has also condemned the construction of the wall as "an unlawful act of annexation". The United States and Australia defend the security fence saying the wall is a counter-terrorism protective measure and that the onus is on the Palestinian Authority to fight terrorism. The U.S., Canada, Israel and some 30 other democratic states objected to the ICJ consideration of the UN General Assembly request, finding the request loaded and prejudicial, and expressing concern of the ICJ's credibility.^[13]^[14]^[15]

[edit] July 12, 2005

Five people were killed and over 100 wounded when a suicide bomber detonated himself on a pedestrian crossing near the entrance to Hasharon Mall in Netanya shortly after 6:30 p.m. The bomber was identified as Ahmed Abu Khalil, 18, from the West Bank village of Atil. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.^[16]

[edit] 2000-2006

The death toll both military and civilians of the entire conflict in 2000-2006 is estimated to be 4,046 Palestinians and 1,017 Israelis.^[17] Note that these numbers do not differentiate between combatants and civilians. At least 223 Palestinians were also killed by fellow Palestinians.

[edit] Recent developments

[edit] June 24, 2002

US President George W. Bush calls for an independent Palestinian state living in peace with Israel.

In a major speech, Bush states that Palestinian leaders must take steps to produce democratic reforms, and fiscal accountability, in order to improve the negotiations with Israel. He also states that as Palestinians show control over terrorism, Israel must end operations in the West Bank, and in areas which it entered under Operation Defensive Shield. ^[18]

[edit] July 22, 2002

IDF kills the top of their "most wanted" list, Salah Shahade, the leader of Hamas's "military wing", the Izz ad-Din el-Qasam Brigades. The missile strike flattens the apartment building killing 14 civilians (including nine children).^[19]

[edit] August 14, 2002

Marwan Barghouti, captured April 15, was indicted by a civilian Israeli court for murdering civilians and membership in a terrorist organisation. Mr Candy man on the scene SGMC

[edit] March 16, 2003

Rachel Corrie, an American member of the International Solidarity Movement is crushed by an Israel Defence Forces bulldozer, becoming the first ISM member to die in the conflict. Members of the group who witnessed her death allege murder, while Israel calls it a "regrettable accident".

[edit] March 19, 2003

Mahmoud Abbas appointed Prime Minister.

[edit] March 24, 2003

Hilltop 26, an illegal Israeli settlement near the city of Hebron, is peacefully dismantled by the Israel Defence Force.

[edit] April 30, 2003

The details of the Road map for peace are released.

[edit] May 27, 2003

Ariel Sharon states that the "occupation" of Palestinian territories "can't continue endlessly."

[edit] June 2, 2003

A two-day summit is held in Egypt. Arab leaders announce their support for the road map and promised to work on cutting off funding to terrorist groups.

[edit] June 29, 2003

Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah agree to a three-month cease-fire.

[edit] August 19, 2003

Islamic Jihad and Hamas claim joint responsibility for a suicide bombing that kills twenty Israelis. Mahmoud Abbas pledges a crackdown on militants.

[edit] September 6, 2003

Mahmoud Abbas resigns from the post of Prime Minister.

[edit] October 16, 2004

Israel officially ended a 17-day military operation, named Operation Days of Penitence, in the northern Gaza Strip. The operation was launched in response to a Qassam rocket that killed two children in Sderot. About 108-133 Palestinians were killed during the operation, of whom one third were civilians.

[edit] November 11, 2004

Yasser Arafat dies at the age of 75 in a hospital near Paris, after undergoing urgent medical treatment (since October 29, 2004).

[edit] February 25, 2005

On Friday evening, young Israelis arrive for a birthday party at the Stage Club in Tel Aviv. A teenage suicide bomber detonates himself at the entrance to the club. 5 Israelis killed, and about 50 wounded. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility.^[20]

[edit] August 7, 2005

An individual IDF deserter and member of the banned Kach group in Israel, Eden Natan-Zada, opens fire on a crowded bus in the Arab town of Shfaram, killing 4 Palestinians and wounding twenty-two. When he runs out of bullets, the bus is stormed by Arab bystanders and Zaada is beaten to death. PM Ariel Sharon and several Israeli leaders condemn the attack and offer condolences to the families.

[edit] August 17, 2005

A Asher Weissgan shoots and kills 4 Palestinians in the West Bank as a protest against the disengagement plan.^[21]

[edit] September 12, 2005

Completion of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan. Israel removes all Jewish settlements, many Bedouin communities, and military equipment from the Gaza Strip. Although there is no permanent Israeli presence or jurisdiction in Gaza anymore, Israel retains control of certain elements (such as airspace, borders and ports), leading to an ongoing dispute as to whether or not Gaza is "occupied" or not. Since the disengagement, Palestinian militant groups have used the territory as a staging ground from which to launch rocket attacks and build underground tunnels into Israel.

[edit] October 14, 2005

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora announces Lebanon will be the last Arab country to have any peace with Israel.

[edit] January 25, 2006

Hamas wins by landslide the majority of seats after the Palestinian legislative election, 2006. Israel, the United States, European Union, and several European and Western countries cut off their aid to the Palestinians; as they view the Islamist political party who rejects Israel's right to exist as a terrorist organization.

[edit] June 9, 2006

Following the Gaza beach blast, in which seven members of one family and one other Palestinian were killed on a Gaza beach, the armed wing of Hamas calls off its 16-month-old truce. Israel claims it was shelling 250m away from the family's location; Palestinians claimed that the explosion was Israeli responsibility.^[22] ^[23] Reports have concluded Israel had not been responsible for the blast.^[24] ^[25] ^[26] ^[27] ^[28] ^[29] An Israeli internal investigation report claims the blast was most likely caused by an unexploded Israeli munition buried in the sand and not by shelling.

[edit] June 13, 2006

Israel kills 11 Palestinians in a missile strike on a van carrying Palestinian militants and rockets driving through a densely civilian populated area in Gaza.^[30] Nine among those killed are civilian bystanders.

[edit] July 5, 2006

First Qassam rocket of increased strength is fired into the school yard in the Southern Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon. This has been the first instance of an increased distance Qassam rockets can reach and the first time a significantly large city has been attacked. No one was injured in this attack.^[31]

[edit] July 26, 2006

Israel launches a counter-offensive to deprive cover to militants firing rockets into Israel from Gaza. 23 Palestinians killed, at least 16 are identified militants, 76 wounded.

[edit] June 25, 2006

After crossing the border from the Gaza Strip into Israel, Palestinian militants attack an Israeli army post. The militants kidnapped Gilad Shalit, killed two IDF soldiers and wounded four others. Israel launches Operation Summer Rains.

[edit] July 12, 2006

Hezbollah infiltrates Israel in a cross-border raid, kidnaps two soldiers and kills three others. Israel attempts to rescue the kidnapped, and five more soldiers are killed. Israel's military responds, and the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict begins.

[edit] August 14, 2006

2006 Fox journalists kidnapping. Palestinian militants kidnap Fox journalists Olaf Wiig and Steve Centanni, demanding the U.S. to release all Muslims in prison. The two are eventually released on August 27, after stating they have converted to Islam.

[edit] September 2006

Violence and rivalry erupts between Fatah and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Mahmoud Abbas tries to prevent civil war.^[32]^[33] President Mahmoud Abbas and his moderate party advocate a Palestinian state alongside Israel, while Prime Minister Ismail Haniya and his Islamist party reject Israel's right to exist.^[34]

[edit] September 26, 2006

A UN study declares the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip "intolerable", with 75% of the population dependent on food aid,^[35] and an estimated 80% of the population living below the poverty line.^[36] The Palestinian economy had largely relied on Western aid and revenues, which has been frozen since Hamas's victory. The situation can also be attributed to Israeli closures, for which Israel and the EU cite security concerns, specifically smuggling, possible weapons transfers and uninhibited return of exiled extremist leaders and terrorists; as well as an extremely high birth rate.^[37]^[38]^[39]^[40]

[edit] October 11-14, 2006

In the midst of an increase of rocket attacks against Israel, the Israeli Air Force fires into the Gaza Strip over a three-day period. 21 Palestinians are killed (17 Hamas militants, 1 al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades militant, and 3 civilians). The two dozen wounded include gunmen and passersby.^[41]^[42]^[43] Israel says the offensive is designed to track down the kidnapped soldier and to stop militants firing rockets into Israel. Spokesman Abu Ubaida for Hamas's military wing issued a statement vowing "we will bombard and strike everywhere" in response to the attacks. Make-shift rockets are immediately shot into Israel.

[edit] October 17, 2006

In separate gunbattles in Nablus, Israeli troops kill 2 al-Aqsa Martyrs's Brigades militants, 2 rock-throwers, and 1 Islamic Jihad militant. Israeli forces discover 13 tunnels apparently used to smuggle weapons into Gaza in the last 3 months. ^[44]

[edit] October 20, 2006

Brokered by Egyptian mediators, Fatah reaches a deal to end fighting between the Hamas and Fatah factions, both groups agreeing to refrain from acts that raise tensions and committing themselves to dialogue to resolve differences. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas brushes off comments by President Mahmoud Abbas, head of Fatah, who indicated he could dismiss the Hamas-led cabinet. Abbas unsuccessfully urges Hamas to accept international calls to renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist.

Palestinian gunmen (presumably of the Fatah faction) open fire at the convoy of Prime Minister Haniyeh as it passed through a refugee camp in central Gaza.^[45]

[edit] October 27, 2006

3 Palestinians in the West Bank are killed by Israeli troops. The relatives were not present but say at least one of the two men in Al Faraa may have been throwing rocks at army jeeps. Israeli soldiers say the two had approached them with a handgun and an axe. The gunman was killed, while the man with the axe was wounded in the leg and taken to an Israeli hospital. In Yamoun, a man was shot and killed on the roof of his home. Relatives say he had gone on the roof to watch the army raid and two other brothers were also wounded. The Israeli army says troops hit at least two armed Palestinians. Islamic Jihad later admitted the man killed on his rooftop was a member of the militant group who died in a gunbattle with Israelis.^[46]

[edit] November 8, 2006

Beit Hanoun November 2006 incident. Amidst ongoing rocket fire, Israel shells Beit Hanoun, killing 19 Palestinian civlians (seven children, four women) during the Gaza operations. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert apologises, saying the incident had been an accidental "technical failure" by the Israeli military.

[edit] January 19, 2007

Israel transfers $100 million in tax revenues to cover humanitarian needs to the office of the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, as part of a plan to bolster him and keep money out of the hands of the Hamas government.^[47]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

^ [1]
^ Palestine Post, 26 July 1938. http://jic.tau.ac.il/Archive/skins/PalestineP/navigator.asp?AW=1169534055109
^ The Palestinian Refugees
^ Arab Refugees from Israel
^ Palestinian Refugees, invited to leave in 1948
^ Timeline for Israel
^ [2]
^ http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9377393
^ http://scs.student.virginia.edu/~irouva/conferences/vics/guides/ArabLeague.pdf#search=%22timeline%20of%20first%20intifada%20end%20site%3A%3A.edu%22
^ [3]
^ Suicide bombing at Tel Aviv Stage Club
^ http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/85255e950050831085255e95004fa9c3/3740e39487a5428a85256ecc005e157a!OpenDocument
^ [4]
^ [5]
^ [6]
^ Suicide bombing at Netanya shopping mall
^ "Intifada statistics", B'Tselem, 2006-7-29.
^ http://www.mideastweb.org/bushspeech1.htm
^ http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002-07-22-israel-strike2_x.htm
^ Suicide bombing at Tel Aviv Stage Club
^ http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/08/29/after_gaza_fear_rises_of_west_bank_violence/
^ Hamas breaks truce with rockets, BBC Online, 10 June, 2006
^ CHRONOLOGY-Key events in the Gaza Strip, Reuters, 4 July, 2006
^ [7]
^ [8]
^ [9]
^ Der Krieg der Bilder, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 16 June, 2006
^ [10]
^ Human Rights Watch switches stories
^ [11]
^ http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=106594
^ In Gaza, the Rule by the Gun Draws Many Competitors
^ Amid civil war fears, Hamas and Fatah stockpile arms
^ [12]
^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5382976.stm
^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5304328.stm
^ [13]
^ [14]
^ [15]
^ [16]
^ [17]
^ [18]
^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061014/ts_nm/mideast_dc]
^ [19]
^ "Gunmen fire on Palestinian PM's convoy in Gaza", CBC News, 2006-10-20.
^ "Israeli troops kill 3 Palestinians", AP via Gulfnews, 2006-10-27.
^ "Israel releases withheld tax funds to Abbas's office", International Herald Tribune, January 19, 2007.

Perliger, Arie and Weinberg, Leonard (2003). Jewish Self-Defence and Terrorist Groups Prior to the Establishment of the State of Israel: Roots and Traditions. Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions, Volume 4, Number 3, pp. 91-118.